Red Cross to offer food care packages to people in need

The Red Cross is working together with radio station 3FM to offer boxes stuffed with food to people who are struggling due to the coronavirus. The money is being raised by the special edition of annual radio fundraiser A Serious Request, giving people the opportunity to pay cash to request a song.

The fundraiser, called "Never Walk Alone", began on Monday and continues up through the end of Saturday. All money will be handed over to the Red Cross, which is using the amount raised for the food boxes, and also to provide care for some patients in special hotel rooms.

Each box has enough food inside to provide two people with two or three meals each. The boxes are being filled with fresh produce from farmers who cannot export or sell their goods at the moment.

The food boxes are for people struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic, including “people who have lost their jobs and don’t have any help or do not know how to get the help they need," the Red Cross said. Those being helped include "families that can barely keep their head above water because of a lack of income,” and also foreign migrants and undocumented immigrants.

By Thursday evening nearly 151 thousand euros had been raised during the fundraising effort. Ten euros is enough for a food box, according to a statement by the Red Cross.